As a follow up to yesterdays blog post Antenatal Ultrasound and Testing and the Older Mum about the fact that I refused the triple test and most other prenatal during my first pregnancy I thought I’d talk about my second pregnancy and how I, rather unwisely I now feel, took a different approach.

I somehow overlooked all my very valid reasons for not having the triple test and then ended up also having an amniocentesis.

Would love to have your comments and experiences with this. Do you think there is too much antenatal testing? Do you go for the lot just to absolutely sure that there is nothing wrong with your baby?

I talked in this blog post about the fact that I refused most antenatal (or prenatal) testing when pregnant with my first child at the age of 37. What I really meant was that I refused the blood tests to show the possibility of abnormality. Most new mums these days go for all tests but older mums are particularly encouraged to do so because of supposed higher risks.

So, why did I refuse? At the time, where I lived, the earliest abnormality testing was the ‘triple test‘ which was recommended for women at my hugely advanced age – grrrr. This is a blood test that is taken between 16 and 18 weeks for best results. It’s designed to show the possibility of Down’s Syndrome and Spina Bifida.

Why on earth would anyone refuse this I hear you asking. Okay – here are my reasons

The test results are skewed by age (that is they factor in your age). Therefore in all likelihood anyone over the age of 35 is going to get a ‘bad’ result

A bad result leads to a push to have amniocentesis and I was very against invasive tests

The results would have arrived a very short time before the major abnormality scan or ultrasound

The ultrasound would show up any very major abnormality

I would have carried on with a pregnancy that showed slight chance of abnormality so why worry myself for the rest of the pregnancy with what might be wrong.

I know that there are other options for testing nowadays and I am all for personal choice but I urge anyone who wishes to avoid invasive tests to stand firm and refuse the triple test as it only gives an indication and, therefore, almost always leads to an amniocentesis in women over the age of 35 just because of their age.

What was your experience of ante/pre natal testing? Did you refuse any tests or go for the lot? Either way why did you make that choice?